Garrett Crochet was dominant in his first season with the Red Sox, compiling an 18-5 record, 2.59 ERA, 1.028 WHIP and an MLB-leading 255 strikeouts.
The year’s performances earned the left-hander the start in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card series against the New York Yankees on Tuesday.
Crochet made four postseason appearances out of the bullpen while with the Chicago White Sox in 2020 and 2021, but Tuesday will mark his first start.
He’s a big reason why ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle believes fans should root for the Red Sox in the postseason.
“This is your chance to possibly see baseball’s newest postseason legend born. Yes, Crochet does already have some postseason history under his belt, having tossed three scoreless innings over four relief outings with six whiffs while with the White Sox,” he wrote. “But this is a whole different Crochet, a full-blown ace who has seemingly gotten stronger as the season has advanced even though he has never carried anywhere close to this heavy of a workload. Crochet is going to be must-watch every time he takes the hill in the playoffs.”
Crochet has had his way with the Yankees this year. Just this season, Boston’s rival has yet to beat the ace. In four starts, Crochet has a 3.29 ERA with 39 strikeouts, including 11 strikeouts of Aaron Judge. Crochet is 3-0 against the Yankees with a 2.90 ERA and 45 strikeouts in his career — all three wins coming with the Red Sox.
Tuesday will mark Boston’s first postseason game since 2021 when it faced New York in the AL Wild Card. The Red Sox earned the win in the then-one-game playoff before ultimately getting eliminated in the AL Championship Series.
Story by Lauren Campbell, masslive.com
